LONDON: The American who shot dead two men on a Lahore street, triggering a diplomatic crisis between Pakistan and the United States, is a CIA agent who was on assignment at the time of the incident, says a report in the Guardian.Based on interviews in the US and Pakistan, the Guardian said it could confirm that the 36-year-old former special forces soldier, Raymond Davis, was employed by the CIA. “It's beyond a shadow of a doubt,” said a senior Pakistani intelligence official.

A number of US media outlets have learned about Davis's CIA role but have kept it under wraps at the request of the Obama administration, which fears that the disclosure could inflame opinion in Pakistan and possibly put Davis at risk.

A Colorado television station, 9NEWS, initially made a connection after speaking to Davis's wife, who lives outside Denver. She referred its inquiries to a number in Washington which turned out to be the CIA.

The station subsequently removed the CIA reference from its website. Nicole Vap, an executive producer, said: “Because of the safety concerns, we decided to amend the story. But it remains accurate.”—Agencies